The three Rookies have had a lot of work in the last two weeks at Sepang. Somkiat Chantra, Fermin Aldeguer and Ai Ogura have in fact benefited from three days of Shakedown, the same time on track during the pre-season tests, to best refine their preparation for MotoGP. However, the Spaniard leaves Malaysia with a slight disappointment.
The transition from Moto2 to MotoGP is never easy. Fortunately for the Rookies, they each have eight days of testing on the sidelines of their first season to familiarize themselves with their new team, and their new bike.
For Fermin Aldeguer, things started well with the Gresini team. The young compatriot of Alex Marquez kept up with the latter throughout the pre-season, following him at three tenths to string together top-5 finishes.
However, on the final day of action in Sepang, their rivals stepped up their game. While Marquez was able to respond to Bagnaia's time of 1:56.500, to beat him by seven thousandths of a second and take the lead, Fermin Aldeguer remained behind.
Eleventh, with a time of 1:57.401, almost a second slower than his garage neighbour, Aldeguer ended these three days of action on a bitter note.
“Six days on this circuit and I arrived mentally burned out, he confided at the end of the Sepang tests. We wanted to make another step forward today, but we didn't manage it. We gained two more tenths, but the others accelerated and I find myself 11th. In any case, the feeling on the bike is better than my times and every day."
The rookie, however, keeps his ideas clear. Next week, in Buriram, he will start working on other aspects of riding a MotoGP, to gain even more performance.
"I went to bed with the belief that I could do better, and I will do better today, He continues. "We have worked well, but I still have a world to discover, starting with electronics. In Thailand we will continue to work and we want to arrive in good condition for the first race of the season," concludes Fermin Aldeguer.
© Gresini Racing
